Lately I’ve been thinking about men called Cory.
Cory and Corey peaked in the 1980s. Some call it an Irish heritage choice. I think of it as a cute boy name from my youth. Credit goes to former child stars turned teenage heartthrobs Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, I suppose.
Now it brings to mind US Senator Cory Booker and writer Cory Doctorow. Plus I’ve met a couple of dads by the name. The last HVAC tech in our house? Another Corey.
And so I’m faced with a conundrum. By every measure and in either spelling, Cory belongs to the trendy names. The ones we insist “won’t age well.”
But plenty of men with the name seem to be doing just fine.
Is the idea of names that age well (or not) just a name nerd myth?
Time recently compiled a list of of Women Who Are Changing the World. It includes Nikki Haley, Sheryl Sandberg, Lori Robinson, Mazie Hirono, Mo’ne Davis, Cindy Sherman, Kellyanne Conway, and Geisha Williams. Jennifer and Michelle make the list. And yes, of course, some of the accomplished list members answer to classic, time-tested names. But it’s tough to argue that success requires a traditional, buttoned-up baby name assigned at birth.
When we say “that name won’t age well,” I think we mean something different.
I wonder if what we’re saying is closer to this: “We have ambitions for our children, and those names don’t square with our images of our kids as future doctors/lawyers/astronauts.”
Because it’s pretty clear that trendy names have not presented a barrier to achievement for many people.
Do you worry about names aging well? It definitely concerned me as an expectant parent. But looking back, maybe it wasn’t really about the name.
Elsewhere online:
- Speaking of our worries about names, I wholeheartedly support Erin Donnelly’s call to stop the baby name shaming.
- Related: What’s up with snarky grandmas? Is this more common than I think it is? Do people really hold grudges about name choices for months and even years?
- Excellent coverage of the likely British royal baby names, via the wise Elea. Alice popped into my head for a princess; the prince list feels a little harder to call.
- The Alice-as-frontrunner stories probably have lots of parents feeling like this right about now …
- If you delivered a baby in Houston last week, what would you name him? Why, Noah Harvey, of course. The best part is that the family had picked Noah months before.
- If you read only one thing this week, I’d suggest this fascinating name change story.
- Oh wait, maybe this question to Duana about using a family name versus choosing one with significance – but no family tie. I agree with her thoughtful answer completely.
- I used to think that one word name was great; two was a sentence. But a few of the combinations rounded up by Names 4 Real have me rethinking. Navy Grace and Fox Maverick both work, I think. Winter Rain and Harbor Bay strike me as a little more problematic. But that probably comes down to perception – I see Grace as more name than word; while Fox and Maverick both strike me as equally name-like.
- Like popular names, but want something more distinctive for your child’s birth certificate? Namenculture’s latest list could inspire.
- Found via Clare’s marvelous Scoop.it site: gorgeous baby names from Portugal. Sheer loveliness.
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week.
